Schooling challenging but enjoyable
WITH schools closed, parents are finding themselves in the position of having to work from home and also ensure their children are still completing school assignments via distance learning.
The task was ‘‘more challenging than expected’’ for the Smith family.
Invercargill couple Amanda and Ali Smith have four children — Marley, Kohyn, Noah and Riley — in different years at school.
The couple had difficulties in the first days of homeschooling in adapting to the new routine, making sure their children accomplished everything required from them while they worked fulltime from home.
‘‘We were really enjoying the lockdown because we always complain about our busy lives and now we are having a lot of family time which is really good,’’ Ms Smith said.
‘‘But those first days of school were very challenging. Each of them has a different online platform, and the younger ones need more attention and help to do their assessments. We had to manage their needs with our own work.’’
They created a very detailed schedule to organise all work.
‘‘We need to have some structure. That way everyone knows what needs to be done and we try to manage better. I think the first days were more challenging,’’ Mr Smith said.
The children said they were enjoying study from home.
‘‘I prefer to study here — even my mother being more strict than my teacher,’’ Noah said.
Riley, who is in year 11, thought it was harder to do assignments from home.
‘‘Now, we kind of teach ourselves. It is definitely different from what I had experienced in school so far. But the school is giving us all the support.’’
When questioned if they would send their children back to school if the Government decided to go to Level 3, the couple said they were not sure.
‘‘It is a risk to send them to school but at the same time it is really hard work with them here. We will balance [that] but at this stage, it's better to stay safe and at home,’’ Ms Smith said.